Would any of our LEO current/retired members provide instances, situations, stories and tips for my 16 year old daughter regarding crime, woman and legal self defense? Yeah we can watch the evening news but I hope to hear some positive results as well as the negatives. to go one step further... would any of you make your self available for one on one phone calls from her or to her in regards to this? I fully intend to turn loose a fully aware, armed, determined young woman unto the world. Not some brainwashed pushover willing to do as told expecting the outcome to be in her favor... I feel a first hand read story or phone call may sink in better than daddy sayin' "911 is not your first option, nor can you expect the law to be here in seconds."
If this is off base sorry
If it is not thanks for the help... PM's welcome if it is more acceptable.
Brent

The best advice I could give, as a former LEO, is the same advice I gave my daughter. Pay attention to what is going on around you, learn what the realities are concerning crime instead of focusing on the stories, stay away from bad people, bad places, or bad things. Learn a couple of basic, yet effective martial arts moves to break free/get distance from an attacker, don't be bashful about hurting someone if you are in danger.

You might to want to also check with some of the local karate schools and police agencies to see if they have people who would meet with your daughter and talk to her. Sometimes the karate schools offer courses specifically set up to let a woman defend herself from aggression.

I am teaching my daughter to always be aware of her surrondings, no matter if she is happy, sad, depressed, whatever. Always know what is going on around you.

This is not just for females though.

Also if a situation feels "wrong" or "off" don't stop and analyze, make sure you are safe then you can firgure out what was giving you the heebie jeebies.

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All America lies at the end of the wilderness road, and our past is not a dead past, but still lives in us. Our forefathers had civilization inside themselves, the wild outside. We live in the civilization they created, but within us the wilderness still lingers. What they dreamed, we live, and what they lived, we dream.

Your local police or Sheriff's department may have a program called "Lady beware". It's similar to the "Neighborhood Watch" program, but it's specifically set up for females, and often includes practical self defense tactics.

You will first need to get her attention on the facts of the society in which we live. Most Wal Mart stores have a wall outside the front door with pictures of missing teens. 90% of these teens are likely to be dead. They are still missing because their bodies are yet to be recovered.
Teens see no danger in the things that they do. When you get her attention then you can start training.

I would also suggest a book called "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin de Becker. It deals with a variety of different topics, but is specifically about listening to yourself and learning to recognize and listen to your body's fear response (he differentiates between this and anxiety), as it is often your subconscious picking up on non-verbal / situational cues that indicate danger. He talks at some length about stalking and also deals with when a restraining order is useful, and when it makes things worse. A caveat, he makes several off-hand remarks that are quite anti-gun, but it's not so bad that it would make me discount the information that the book provides.

I think enough of this book that I've given copies of it away copies to friends of mine, and have another copy of it in my closet ready to go for the next one who needs it, I even recommended it to a local journalist in response to a series that she wrote about stalking.

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Meriam Webster's: Main Entry: ci·vil·ian Pronunciation: \sə-ˈvil-yən also -ˈvi-yən\, Function: noun, Date: 14th century, 1: a specialist in Roman or modern civil law, 2 a: one not on active duty in the armed services or not on a police or firefighting force b: outsider 1, — civilian adjective

the simple fact that your daughter has a father who is involved in her life, and who wants her to be able to look after herself, in itself significantly reduces her odds of being victimized.

Girls who don't have fathers actively involved in their lives are more likely to become involved in abusive relationships. Most women who are attacked physically or sexually will be attacked by somebody they know. So...

Most Wal Mart stores have a wall outside the front door with pictures of missing teens. 90% of these teens are likely to be dead.

Not likely. First, most missing teens are missing willingly, because they ran away from home. Second, most of the actual "abductions" are family related. Very few stranger abductions occur, particularly at the teen level. And most don't end up dead. Most end up back with their family within a year or two.

You might to want to also check with some of the local karate schools and police agencies to see if they have people who would meet with your daughter and talk to her. Sometimes the karate schools offer courses specifically set up to let a woman defend herself from aggression.

As i former karate practitioner i have to say it wouldn't be my first choice for self defence.

I would say a better option would be something like aikido or if you can find a place, krav maga, no rules self defence oriented and trains for use against armed assailants.

"As i former karate practitioner i have to say it wouldn't be my first choice for self defence.

I would say a better option would be something like aikido or if you can find a place, krav maga, no rules self defence oriented and trains for use against armed assailants."

As a current Shotokan practitioner, I have to say that once you begin to truly understand the basic blocks and the hidden locks, joint breaks and counterstrikes in karate (black-belt and above, for most students) karate is a valid and valuable self-defense combat system that carries over from feudal Okinawa/Japan's hand-weapons (bo, jo, sai, katana, oar, etc.) to present day weapons (including knives, clubs and firearms). Karate, taught by a good sensei and practiced by a willing, eager student, is certainly a capable self-defense system. Under those same conditions (good teacher, apt pupil) I would say that any self-defense hand-to-hand fighting technique is an applicable defense mechanism. Even Tae Kwon Do!

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